Unexpected hell or perhaps paradise?
by yasly
Summary: Mikan,Natsume,Hotaru&Ruka leave to participate an exchange program.However,things don't go as planned and the plane chrashes!Are they able to survive on an unknown island?And remember:4teenagers alone equeals lots of hormones!The adventure begins..NxM RxH
1. Prologue

Well, here it is: The first chapter of my very first fanfic ever. I'm quite nervous. I had many doubts about whether to write one or not and I still have but I'm going to try anyways so I'll stop blabbering now and start this thing.

Really do hope you enjoy. **This is only the warming up chapter so don't be fooled by it. Please proceed to chapter 2 before you decide this isn't a good story. If you still don't like it, then I accept that completely.**

Please read and review, otherwise I won't know if anyone has actually read it and if it is worth to continue.

(If you notice grammar or spellings faults, please do not hesitate to tell me.)

Disclaimer: I don't think anyone here will be surprised when I say that I do not own Gakuen Alice nor its characters.

* * *

Note: All characters are now 17 years old.

Riiing,Riiiiiing,Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.

A certain brunnette was startled and very annoyed by this terrible sound.

"I hate this clock, that thing gives me the creeps." she muttered, "Shut it!".

Mikan crashed her fist onto the poor clock, destroying it and making it nothing more than a pile of metal junk. (she became quite strong)

"There, that's better...hm wait...damn!. Now I don't even know what time it is. Suppose I'm late as always, I'd better hurry", she thought.

Mikan flew out of bed and dashed off to the bathroom. She took a quick shower, "jumped" into her uniform, brushed her teeth, put on a bit of mascara and lip gloss and brushed her long, shiny brown hair. She looked at herself in the mirror, a young woman withlarge brown eyes with little dots gold in them stared back. She had become, to be honest, a beautiful woman.

Her lips were full, her smile ever so bright and her body was the dream of every high school boy. She had a C cup and it suited her perfectly.

Remembering that she was probably late she hurried to her classroom, but when she opened the door she found:

Nobody,except for a young man withbroad shoulders leaning against a chair, his face covered with a manga. The man looked up, reacting to the sound of Mikan entering.

A pair of breathtaking crimson eyes gazed at her.

"He becomes more handsome every day, if that's even possible." Mikan admitted to herself.

Mikan wasn't as dense anymore as she used to be, she had to thank her friends for that, all those talks with Hotaru, Yuu and Narumi (that were kind of awkward) and hanging out with world's number one pervert: Natsume Hyuuga, did have its consequences. She was grateful for it however, not knowing what other people were talking about and always being the last to know did become quite annoying. But now, after being taught about a great deal of things she found herself being quite good at understanding other people's feelings, probably because of her caring nature.

She went over to the manga-addict and placed herself on a chair before his desk.

"Ohayo Natsume!"

"Hmn" ( Our favorite raiven-haired boy is still his old self, but they did became close friends however)

"Where is everyone? Classes should already have started, shouldn't they?"

Natsume looked at her with a flicker of amusement in his crimson eyes,

"Polka Dots, I know it's hard for you but try to use your brains once in a while, before they completely disappear."

He looked at her and (she expected it already) smirked.

Annoyed and unpleased with the nickname she puffed her cheeks and tried to catch the hint he had given her.

Natsume was pleased that he could still tease her after all those years and watched her mulling over what he had said.

Not having the time he decided to break the news to her: "It's Saturday, little girl."

Nani!! I could have slept way longer then. She was pouting one moment and the other she was surprised because Natsume took her wrist and started dragging her into the hallway.

After a lot of yelling that she could walk by herself and demanding where he was taking her, the raiven-haired boy finally opened his mouth:

"That stupid gay teacher told us to go to the principal."

"Huh? What would they want I wonder?", she said.

Finally they stood for the huge wooden door that lead to the Principal's office and knocked.

Mikan had already been here once, when they announced to her that she had the copy and steal alice. She had been so surprised and a little uncomfortable because she didn't like the word "stealing", it made her look like some sort of thief. However the new alice had its advantages, she became a three star in no time. And with a lot of hard work she even became a special star on her 16th birthday. Everyone had been so happy for her.

She couldn't help but feel a little nervous and Natsume could notice it just by looking at her face.

"Hey little girl, you don't have to take your name so seriously to start wearing sakura-flowered underwear."

The named girl cheeks filled with a delightful pink : NATSUME!! You looked again, you pervert!! Aren't you getting too old for that!!

Mikan's voice filled the hallway and bounced of the walls.

"Look who's talking, printed underwear girl", the accused pervert shot back.

Our brunette took in a deep breath to give him a piece of her mind just when the door was opened by Narumi,

"Ah Mikan! I already thought I heard your beautiful voice."

Mikan sweat dropped, remembering her yelling.

Because of Natsume's teasing Mikan completely forgot about her nervousness.

They all went in, greeted the principal and took place in front of his desk.

When the principal started speaking even Natsume paid attention for once.

"These last years all the Alice Academies have started to become closer with each other and made bonds. But we feel that even though the different Alice Academies are connected, the students are not. So we decided that we should start a student exchange program. This way, pupils from different schools will get to know each other and learn from each other. We selected you two to go because this is still an experiment so we figured we should send two special star students who will have no trouble managing themselves in a new school. The exchange would be for 6 months and you are allowed to take a friend with you so that you won't be lonely. The Alice Academy you would attend to is the one in America.

We don't want to force you so you get 2 days to decide whether you'll participate or not. But remember, it's a great honor to represent our school and you would have a lot of new experiences when you return."

Mikan and Natsume were quiet for a few moments until the cheerful brunette spoke:

"If Hotaru will accept to come along with me that I'm glad to go. Although I will miss my other friends, it's a great opportunity and it's only for 6 months. So I accept!", she said happily.

The crimson-eyed boy looked at her for a moment while she was waiting for his answer. When he answered that he'll go and would take Ruka with him she felt very relieved. She knew that she would miss him otherwise, he had become an important part in her life. They were almost always together: in school, at lunch, after school at their favorite sakura tree, at central town, when they were training and other places.

She didn't know that Natsume would've never declined since he knew his brunnette would go. Yes, his brunnette; she wasn't his girlfriend but he didn't allow other guys flirting with her because she was gorgeous, cheerful and well liked by everyone. He admitted to himself a long time ago that she meant a lot to him, why bother to deny it if it was obvious?

After calling Ruka and Hotaru over and explaining the situation to them they accepted as well. Hotaru was thrilled because she would earn a lot of money by selling her inventions.

After sorting out all of the details, it was decided they would leave in 2 weeks to go to the Alice Academy of America.

Little did they know, things would **not** go as planned. Not. at. all.

* * *

I just finished a chapter, I just finished a chapter ( dancing around in my room). Okay I finished a chapter, but was it any good? Like I said, this chapter is only the warming up for the real story to start. Please let me know what you think and what I should improve. I would be very grateful if no one send any flames, my confidence in my writing is already little.

Next chapter: Mikan makes preparations and they fly off to America. But the story is called: "**Unexpected **hell or perhaps paradise?", so it's obvious something will happen to our friends. Something unexpected.


	2. Your worst nightmare

I'm back again with my next chapter. I'm very glad with the reviews I got from: **Unreadable me, alwaybtheir, HinamoriSenna and KMAC O8**. You really motivated me to keep on writing this story, so this chapter is dedicated to you girls.

A lot of people don't realise the effect a simple review can make but it's the only way how I can know if someone actually has read my story. Even if you don't like it, you can tell me and give me some constructive tips. I really hope this convinces you to make my day and give me a little review. Arigatou!

I uploaded this the day after the first chapter, because I had a little bit of time. Not every upload will be so quick but I'll try my hardest every time to update as soon as I can.

Disclaimer: I don't think anyone is surprised when I declare that I don't own Gakuen Alice nor its characters.

* * *

Note: All characters are now 17 years old.

One day before the departure:

"I'm never going to be ready in time!!" a normally cheerful brunette screamed while running around her bedroom.

"I still have to prepare a billion things, what am I going to do Hotaru!?" Mikan let herself crash onto the bed and hid her face in her cushion.

"If you had starting making preparations you wouldn't be in this mess, it's your own fault.", Hotaru answered stoically while eating crab brains.

"Hotaru, you're so cold! I can't help it I got the date of our leave wrong, you could've at least said something sooner than yesterday. Please Hotaru ,will you help me?", Mikan looked at Hotaru with an adorable puppy look.

"Okay, but that will be 6000 dollars.", the raiven-haired girl replied. The last two weeks she didn't accept rabbits anymore, only dollars. She was completely ready for her trip to America.

"Thank you Hotaruuuu!!", Mikan flew towards her best friend, pretending she hadn't heard the price tag that was connected with Hotaru's help.

BAKA BAKA

"Stay away with your baka germs.", the raven-haired girl said while pulling something out of her handbag.

"Here, it's a list of everything you will need to bring with you and in which shop you will find it.", Mikan sweat dropped, wondering if her best friend already knew she would have to ask her for help.

"Arigatou Hotaru!"

BAKA BAKA

After Mikan pulled herself up she went to search Natsume to go with her to central town, because Hotaru said she had still some stuff she had to take care of.

She found the boy sleeping on a branch of their sakura tree. She climbed up the tree and settled herself next to him.

"Ne, Natsume, wake up.", she poked him in the cheek.

The boy only grunted and took her hand in his.

Mikan giggled, Natsume really looked so cute when he was relaxed. She was brushing some hair out of his face when he woke up. He blinked once.

"What are you doing here, polka dots?", and even though he was awake, he didn't let go of her hand.

"Well, I have to go to central town and wanted to ask you if you would go with me.", Mikan asked.

"Is that a date, little girl?", he lifted his perfectly formed brow.

"No! I just need somebody to go with me. Come on Natsume, I don't have a lot of time. Please come with me?", and for the second time this day she used her adorable puppy look. The only difference was that with Natsume it worked, even though he would rather bite of his tong than admit it.

"Fine, so stop annoying me.", he scowled.

* * *

A few hours later they had almost everything she needed. She looked at the last thing on the list.

"Ne Natsume, why do I have to buy a swimsuit? It's not like we're going on a holiday, is it?"

"You didn't read the school's handbook, did you?"

"What school's handbook?"

"The book with the school its rules, different classes, and properties."

"Oh that book, I was planning on reading it on the plane. So can you tell me why I would need the swimsuit?"

"The school has an enormous pool so I guess that's way that inventor girl put it on your list."

After Mikan finally calmed down about the news that there would be a pool, they went to a shop where you could find everything there is to find about swimming, including swimsuits.

When they entered, a lady with a nice smile went to them:

"Welcome in the Sea Astre, what can I do for you?", she asked.

"Well I was looking for a swimsuit but I guess I can use a little help, there is so much choice and I would like it to fit properly", Mikan said while looking at the enormous variety of swimsuits.

"No problem, would your boyfriend like to wait here or next to your cabinet?"

Mikan blushed madly and Natsume just looked the other way, it wasn't the first time someone had mistaken them for a couple but it was still a little embarrassing.

"No, no, no, he's not my boyfriend, he's a friend and he'll wait here. Won't you Natsume?"

"Hmn", the crimson-eyed guy answered.

After a few tries, Mikan found the perfect swimsuit. She couldn't help but wonder what Natsume would think of it. Well, she would know it when she would wear it at the pool.

But as we all have experienced once in our lives , fate sometimes takes an ironic twist and that was something Mikan was soon to learn.

The day of the departure:

Pant.. pant..., our favorite brunette was panting heavily before the entrance of her dorm sitting on her luggage. It was a beautiful day, with a blue blue sky, the only minor thing was the incredible heat suffocating her, as if carrying all those suitcases from the third floor wasn't enough already. For once in her life she was early, she woke up at 5 o'clock and couldn't fall back a sleep because of her excitement. She had then decided she could as well begin to make all the last minutes arrangements. So there she was, at 6:50 AM waiting for the others.

"I'm so hot, I really hope the others will come soon and that the car that will drive us to the Alice Airport will have air conditioning.", the brunette thought.

At 7 AM sharp everyone was at their meeting place, waiting for the car to come.

Everyone was looking at the pile of suitcases Mikan brought with her:

"Baka, did you bring your whole room with you?", Hotaru sarcastically said.

The referred baka however didn't notice the sarcasm and replied seriously,

"Yeah! I brought along almost everything, otherwise I would be homesick. I don't want it to be like the time when I came here with only a backpack of personal items. This time I'm prepared!"

Everyone sweat dropped.

"What?", she asked.

Ruka held back a chuckle, "It's nothing Mikan, you're completely right. We wouldn't want you to feel homesick."

Mikan flashed one of her stunning smiles to Ruka: "Arigatou Ruka pyon!", this still made Ruka a blush a little. However he didn't was in love with Mikan anymore since they were 15.

By this time the car had already arrived and the driver was putting the luggage into the little bus.

Mikan, Natsume, Hotaru and Ruka had already said their goodbye's on their little going away party the evening before. Everyone was so sad because there 4 friends, especially their cheerful brunette would leave them and all the fan girls of Natsume and Ruka and all the fan boys of Mikan and Hotaru's admirers were in a state of depression because their idols would go away.

When they arrived at the airport the plane was already waiting for them. Narumi, who had come along, took Mikan aside.

"Mikan take good care of yourself, you're like a daughter to me. I'm going to miss you so much, so promise me you'll call me whenever you can and let me know how you're doing?"

"Of course sensei! I'm going to miss you too!", Mikan said with teary eyes.

She hugged her "father".

"It's time to leave Mikan.", Narumi said. The young woman nodded.

"Bye bye, I love you sensei!"

"I love you too Mikan!"

She went to the others who were already waiting and entered the private jet.

* * *

"Huh? Where is the pilot?", Ruka asked

"Nogi, this is an Alice plane, they're made so that they don't need a pilot. You just have to give your destination and it will bring you there."Hotaru answered.

Instead of further discussing the absence of a pilot and advanced technology , they looked at a trembling brunette who had already taken seat and belted herself firmly. She was completely pale.

Can you guess it?

Yes, Mikan Sakura was scared of flying.

Natsume, who was seated beside her, noticed how completely terrified she looked, especially since this was her first time she had taken the airplane. Like always, he was concerned, even though he would never say it out loud. He just was that kind of guy, caring but still cool.

"Oi Polka dots, do you have something to eat with you, I'm starving", he said.

Mikan glanced towards him, "Y..y..yes, in m..m..y bag.", she was shivering so hard that she even started stuttering.

She started to look for the lunchbox, and stopped abruptly before she started drooling,

"Howalon!! There's a box of Howalon in my bag. It's even the most expensive one with extra flavor!!"

The plane took of without her even noticing, while she was still admiring her box with wonderful, sweet Howalon.

"Ne Natsume, did you put this box inside my bag?", she sweetly asked.

Natsume looked at her with a disgusted face, "why would I do that? I don't even like Howalon. It must have been that stupid gay teacher."

She decided that that would be indeed the most logical explanation. However, even though it was the most logical one, it wasn't the correct explanation.

Natsume, who knew his favorite brunette well, expected that she would be scared of flying. Therefore he putted a box of Howalon in her bag, knowing that it would be the only thing that would her distract her enough of her fear.

(AN: Isn't he just the sweetest?XD)

When Mikan suddenly realised that they were already in full air, she was ready to panic again but once she looked at the breathtaking view outside of the window she relaxed and started to enjoy her first flying trip.

They were all having fun while playing carts and were currently flying above the Pacific Ocean when suddenly there was a lightning bolt, and a bright white light filled the flying cabinet.

Mikan screamed and when the lightning was followed by an ear deafening thunder, everyone turned pale.

Natsume grabbed Mikan's hand and almost threw her in her seat and putted on her safety belt. Everyone immediately did the same, not wanting to take any risks.

And thank god for their good sense and Natsume's quick reactions, because the next time the lightning struck, it didn't only turned everything in white, it hit the plane with a horrifying sound.

The next thing they knew, the plane's wing was teared off and the plane was crashing down, while trembling and shaking heavily.

Mikan was screaming the whole time, shouting that she didn't want them to die, but even that sound died down after they all put on their breathing masks.

Natsume took Mikan's hand firm in his, hoping they would all survive the crash.

The only sound that could now be heard, was the sound of the thunder and the wind colliding with the unstoppable plane that was going down mercilessly.

* * *

Don't strangle me please! I know I left a big cliffie but this chapter did reveal a lot however. Now you know at least why I said that things wouldn't go the way they expected to.

Next time, on chapter 3, the real adventure starts and challenges will have to be faced.

Like I said in the beginning, you can make my day with a little or large review.


	3. First day

Hello minna-san, I present to you: chapter number 3!

Perhaps some of you have already noticed I've changed the summary a little but I did it because I figured that people would think that the story would be about the exchange program while in fact it has nothing to do with the actual story.

I want to thank everyone who has reviewed (the people I mean, know that I'm addressing them), it was again a motivation to keep on going and it made me want to do my best.

I hope everyone will enjoy this chapter and don't forget: Review please!

Disclaimer: I don't think anyone is surprised when I declare that I do not own Gakuen Alice nor its characters.

* * *

It was dark, everything was pitch black. There was a girl who didn't know where she was, how long she'd been there and what the hell she was doing there.

She didn't know anything except for one thing: Who she was.

She was Mikan Sakura.

As she was lying still she wondered what that constant sound was. First it was quiet, then the sound became stronger, came to its climax to retreat once again. It was so rhythmic and calm. She found the sound soothing. Somehow she knew that sound. But where had she heard it before?

Before her eyes came the image of a beach her grandfather took her once to, that day had been one of the most wonderful days of her life. The sound was the sound of the ocean. It were the waves, rolling onto the beach to pull back again and with that knowledge, everything suddenly came back with a flash.

The plane, the storm, the fierce lightning bolts, the panic, the crash, the sudden nothingness,

Her friends!

Quickly she scrambled onto her feet. Her left leg hurt and she could feel her heart pumping blood through it, still she managed to stand. Her clothes felt moist and stuck to her body, she was cold. She didn't dare to walk for she did not know where she was and couldn't make anything out of her surroundings. A sudden panic took her by the throat. Perhaps she had become blind?

She pushed the terrifying idea away, somewhere at the back of her mind because she had to stay sane. She had to, if she wanted to find her friends.

"Natsume!!Hotaru!!Ruka!!", she started shouting, not caring for herself and for the dangers that might surround her. She only wanted to find her friends. If she found them, everything would be okay, Natsume and Hotaru would probably laugh at her that she had been so worried over them. They would tell her that they didn't need her to worry over them. How she longed to hear them saying that to her.

She kept calling out to them until her voice was sore. She had figured out that she was on a beach, feeling the sand between her shoeless feet.

Mikan put herself onto her hands and knees and started to move. After she had crawled about 20 feet, she bumped her hand onto something. Her first reaction was to jerk away, surprised. She forced herself to reach her hand out again, she moved it slowly towards the unknown something until she felt it again.

It was moist. She touched it further and decided that it wasn't a living being. Relieved that it was not some wild animal and at the same time disappointed that it wasn't one of her companions she took it with both hands.

She recognized that it was her own shoulder bag. Tears started to flow, just glad that she had found one thing that was familiar about this place. She quickly opened it and started feeling through her stuff. She didn't really expect her cellphone to still work but when she took it out of its holder and clapped it open, a bright light illuminated her face. She couldn't believe it. She thanked Hotaru silently for the holder that she had given to her for her birthday so that her mobile phones would last longer than usual.

There wasn't any range but she had already anticipated that, it was the light that was so precious to her. She could now see everything that was in a 3 feet radius. She started crawling again with her bag strapped around her back, faster this time, not afraid anymore she might bump in to something.

She had been crawling for a few minutes when she almost passed something but luckily she had seen it from the corner of her eye. She hurried over there. It was a figure, lying so still as if it was lifeless. Suddenly she didn't know for sure anymore if she wanted to find her friends, finding out something that she would prefer not to know.

The person was raiven-haired. Was it Hotaru or Natsume? Slowly she turned the person towards her and revealed a handsome face and closed eyes, that she knew hid beautiful crimson orbs.

"Natsume!!"

She quickly searched his pols and found it was beating, relief washed through her. She then started checking him for any wounds; there was a big lump on the back on his head, but luckily there wasn't any blood. Except for that, she couldn't find anything else that might be serious.

She wanted him to wake him up from his unconsciousness for she couldn't bear to be alone anymore. She started to pinch his cheeks, called out to him, took his hands in hers but nothing worked. The young man was still lying still, as if he was just sleeping peacefully.

She became scared and wondered if it could be that he was in some sort of coma.

She went to his ear, and whispered: "Wake up, please, don't leave me alone, I need you. Wake up Natsume."

She felt him stir under her, surprised she gave him some space to breath and come by. After a few minutes, that felt more like hours to Mikan, he opened his eyes.

He looked at her and said only one thing but it meant the world to her: "Mikan".

She started crying heavily, relieved beyond words and hugged him as if it was the end of times, and for once, he didn't protest.

He just stroked her hair, trying to process what had happened.

"Where are the others?" Natsume asked and saw how her face fell when she heard his question.

"I don't know where they are, you're the first one I've found. I've been searching for quite some time now but perhaps they are also lying unconscious a little further."

They decided that it would be better if they would stay put and start searching when dawn would break. Mikan was tired and her leg hurt even more than before, and Natsume had not only a major headache but he also got some bruised ribs. It wouldn't help Ruka and Hotaru if they would stumble further in the dark and get hurt even more. Perhaps Ruka or Hotaru were already looking for them and they would cross each other without knowing it.

Mikan turned of her cellphone, thinking that she would probably need it more an other time.

Natsume wanted to make a fire, so that there clothes could get dry and they could see something. But the brunette didn't let him, he was still too weak to use his alice and it would take a lot of his energy. She convinced him by saying that he would be of more help if he rested for now and recover more quickly. He was surprised that for once what she said made sense and decided that the fire could indeed wait.

The raven-haired boy lay down again, Mikan followed his example and put her head softly onto his shoulder, needing his natural warmth and comfort. She was surprised that he didn't protested and figured that perhaps even he needed some comfort this time.

They were worried like hell for their friends, and for themselves, not knowing if this was a deserted island or not. And if so, could they survive here until they would be found? Were they going to be found? There existed countless little, unknown islands in the Pacific Ocean and they were on one of them.

Those thought were twirling around in their heads but stopped when they both fell into a deep slumber, exhausted from their physical and emotional strain.

* * *

When the first light of the sun arrived, you could see a young pair sleeping in each other arms. Their clothes were ragged and their hair tousled but still it couldn't be denied that they were both beautiful. The raven-haired boy opened his eyes, and seemed taken aback by his surroundings. He watched the calm sea not far from him, he felt the sand beneath him, and looked at the girl next to him.

Natsume remembered where he was and why his body hurt everywhere, his first thought had been that he had returned from a mission because of his aching limbs, his throbbing head and his hurting ribs. But now he knew better, something far worse than a mission had happened to him, to them.

He looked again at the gorgeous girl lying peacefully next to him, thanking the gods that they had watched over her and brought back to him.

He desperately hoped that this would also be the case with Ruka and Hotaru.

Unwillingly the whole scenario replayed over and over in his head.

When the plane was souring down, he had taken Mikan's hand and held onto her the whole time, even when the plane crashed and the force of the water made the windows shatter. Even when the sea was tossing the plane from one place to another and even when he belted themselves loose.

He saw Ruka and Hotaru doing the same and knowing that they were capable of taking care of themselves, he concentrated on getting the unconscious Mikan out of the plane. The exit portal was open due to the crash and he swam trough it and kept on swimming until he reached the surface.

He would never forget what he saw then. A black sky with lightnings bolts that turned it from time to time white. The monstrous waves were as high as houses and because he was still holding Mikan it was nearly impossible not to be pulled down, back into the black sea.

He had spotted the exit door of the plane that was floating on the surface near them and swam towards it, he pulled Mikan half onto it and held her in place with his one arm while holding on to the portal with his other arm. The waves were crashing onto them, and there were moments he felt as if the only thing he was breathing was water.

When he thought about that murderous sea, he still felt shivers run along his spine. There were few moments in his life that he had been scared, even though he had done numerous dangerous missions but he had been terrified during that time.

He remembered that just when he was certain that this would be the end for them, he felt rocks. Even though they hit him hard against the legs, he didn't mind. The fact that there were rocks could mean that there was an island nearby. Luckily his suspicion had been right. The last thing he remembered was a gigantic wave that separated him and Mikan and threw him against the rocks. That's when it all went black and the big lump on his head explained why.

Occupied with those dark memories, he didn't notice a certain brunette had also woken up and was now looking at him.

"Natsume?"

He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the girl, showing she had his attention.

"What are we going to do? Should we first start looking for Hotaru and Ruka or find out if this is really a deserted island? She looked at him questioningly.

"We have to get up and explore this area first, while looking for them. We should also find out if there is water and anything eatable.

Putting his words into action, he got up and told her to get up too. He started to skim the area with his eyes and this is what he saw:

There were in the middle of the beach, in front of them as far as the eye could reach was sea, behind them there was a jungle, and as far as he could make out from there the most trees were palm trees, far into the jungle there was a large mountain or volcano. When he looked at his right, something glittering in the distance where the sea was, caught his eye. He focused on it and felt a little bit excitement when he figured out what is was.

There, 2 mile into the sea, was the plane wreck, stuck between rocks. In the plane were all their stuff; clothes, food, some water bottles, and everything else they had brought along. If they could reach the plane, he could empty it and bring it to the beach. It would be hard work but that didn't matter. It would increase their survival changes immensely.

While he was contemplating about how he would handle this, Mikan followed his gaze and when she saw the plane she almost jumped around of excitement. She too knew how valuable the items in the plane were.

The only problem was: How to get to the plane and swim back not being able to use their hands because of the suitcases?

They had to be quick because there was a chance that when it became ebb, the plane would come loose and everything would be lost.

It was then that Mikan remembered that she had seen a thick rope at the back of the plane's cabinet. A plan started to form in her head and she informed Natsume about it.

The plan was that they would take the rope and put it through the handles of the suitcases, then they would tie it around their chest and swim back to the coast, while they were carrying together 3 suitcases each time.

It was a dangerous plan, because of the rocks, the treacherous sea and the fact that it could be that the weight of the suitcases would pull them under, but it was the best option they got and they were willing to take it.

* * *

Natsume took of the remains that used to be his shirt, and revealed a well formed 6-pack that every girl would drool over, but not Mikan because for the moment, she had much more important things on her mind.

The pair went into the water, until they couldn't reach the bottom anymore, trying the spare as much energy as possible. They hadn't had anything to drink nor eat for the at least 18 hours and it was starting to get at them, it was mostly Mikan who suffered from it.

They started to swim, with a steady pace. Luckily they were both in a very good condition due to all their training because they were special star students otherwise they would probably have had no chance at all at succeeding. After swimming a good half hour they finally reached the plane.

The two allowed themselves a short break while sitting unto a little island of rocks but it didn't last long. Natsume already got up again and was looking at the wreck. Luck wasn't on their side this time; the side where the trunk was containing all their stuff, was the side that was lying in the water. The only way to reach it was to dive and open it from under water.

They decided that Natsume would dive and pull the suitcases and backpacks one by one out of the trunk and Mikan would pull them out of the water and onto the land. But first they had to get the rope, that wasn't difficult luckily, they only had to swim and take it by reaching through a broken window. One they got the rope Natsume took a deep breath, swam towards the side of the trunk and dived.

The salt was hurting his eyes, but he didn't even gave himself enough time to notice, he immediately started to open the lock from the trunk. It was difficult and it took him some time to open the lock that was stuck. Finally the lock gave in and the trunk opened a little. He decided it would be best if he would first fill his longs again with fresh air before pulling out the luggage.

Once above the water, he put his thumb up, signaling to Mikan everything went according the plan before he disappeared again under the surface. This time he put some force into opening the trunk completely and went into the belly of the plane, he randomly took out a backpack and a suitcase and swam back to Mikan. She took hold of the luggage and placed it between two rocks. They went on like that for half an hour with only 1 little break between.

Finally everything was out of the plane, Mikan had taken out the things that were still inside the cabinet, such as Hotaru's bag that was attached to her chair, a first aid kit, 5 big bottles water, 3 packs of American cookies and 2 bags of potato chips, that had been in a little compartment,

Natsume had also found some random things behind in the trunk that were probably there from other trips. There were some very useful things between them.

The brunette had already attached 3 suitcases to herself and waited until Natsume had did the same. They then went into the water and started swimming towards the shore again. The weight was incredible heavy, and it was a struggle to keep head above water but they managed somehow, with sheer willpower. They had taken the most heavy things first, so the rest was a little bit easier, but the fatigue was getting to them so they drank half a bottle of water and ate each 3 cookies, cautious not to spill anything.

After about 6 hours, everything was on shore, and they were both laying on the sand, completely exhausted. The sun had already descended more into the west and Natsume guessed that it was probably 5 PM or something. They were too tired to go through all the bags, looking for things they could use.

Finally Mikan took the time to inspect her left leg, she rolled up her pants and saw immediately the big cut she had already anticipated because of the stinging feeling of the salt seawater, and it was still open. Natsume also saw the cut and pulled out the first aid kit, he disinfected the wound and put on a bandage.

When Mikan protested that she didn't need it, he told her that it was necessary or else there would enter sand into the wound and it would only become worse. When he was finished, she thanked and her leg already felt a lot better than before.

Now that the goal of getting the suitcases was reached, they once again started to ponder, worying about their good friends. Not wanting to think about the worst case scenario but still thinking about it all the time.

When they were lying there, contemplating on what to do, a bright colored parrot flew over. It landed some feet from them, looked intensely at the pair and dropped something from between its jaws unto the sand. It then retreated a little bit, but didn't fly away, it was if the parrot was waiting for something.

Natsume reached out and took what seemed to be a part of the bottom of the leg of a dark green pants. Ruka's pants! They first thought that it was all torn up but when they laid it spread onto the ground they discovered it were words.

Ruka had carved out letters with a knife to form a message:

"WE'RE SAFE.ON ISLAND.YOU?GIVE REPLY BY BIRD."

Mikan and Natsume looked at each other, Mikan's eyes were wide and she was speechless. Her friends were alright!! Ruka and Hotaru were searching for them too. She started to smile, the first time since the crash and had tears of joy and relief in her eyes. If you didn't know Natsume well, you would think the news didn't affect him at all but Mikan knew him more than well, and saw the same feelings behind those dazzling crimson orbs.

Ruka had used his alice of animal pheromones to order the bird to look for them, not knowing if they were still alive or not.

Natsume quickly tore off a part of his already ruined T-shirt, while looking for something to write with.

Mikan was already going through her shoulder bag and handed him an eye-pencil from her little make-up bag.

"Ne Natsume, do you think they could be on the same island as us?", expressing what they both had been wondering about.

He thought about it for a second, "There's one way to find out.".

He immediately started to write:

"SAFE ON ISLAND WITH MOUNTAIN.SAME?HAVE STUFF OUT OF PLANE."

He laid the message onto the sand and took 2 steps back. The bird hopped towards it, picked it up with his beak and flew immediately away.

Now they could finally relax a little bit while waiting for a reply, knowing that they all had survived the crash. But surviving the crash alone wouldn't be enough, they would have to survive while being on a probably deserted island. The hardest part wasn't over yet. Not even close.

* * *

That was again the end of another chapter. I first wanted to end this chapter with the sentence: " They discovered it were words." But I already left a huge cliffie the previous chapter, so I thought it would only be fair that I spare you this time.

You know I'll go all the way, just to get a review that'll make my day. ;)


	4. Author's note

Gomenasai minna-san!! I told myself that I would update every Saturday but I just didn't find the time this week (bows her head in shame). So I promise I'll update next Saturday or a bit sooner, I hope and I will make it up with chapter 4!!

Title chapter 4: Discovering the island and other things...

Preview:

Hotaru and Ruka are all right but are they on the same island as Mikan and Natsume? They all survived the crash but it will be even more difficult to survive on the island. And between all that's happening a certain raven-hared boy has some difficulties keeping his hormones in check and she (you know who) is not making things easier for him. N&M moments!

Stay tune!

Oh and please review chapter 3! It always motivates me a lot and makes me do my best. It doesn't have to be long. Just a little word to encourage or burn me. It's your choice, as long as you review, I don't mind. :)

I also want to thank the people who already reviewed, it means the world to me!:

**Fantasia-49**: Thank you so much for your kind words and for reviewing every time. I'm going to proceed with this story, I promise. And it's so sweet to say that you're with me. I appreciate that a lot!

**'-Minni-rai-'**: Thank you for reviewing every time and indeed I also think Natsume and Mikan are the cutest. Favorite couple next to Kyo and Tohru from Fruits basket.

**Shiro-Kitsune8**: I'm sorry for all my cliffies. I'm a cliffie person I guess. Can't help it. XD Hope you'll still follow my story though.

**Illutia mist**: I have so much respect for you and I take your advice very seriously. Thank you for answering all the questions of this dummy.

**UnreadableMe**: I just love your exciting reviews with all the exclamations. :) They always make me so giddy.

**AnimeGirl66**: Thank you for the compliment and I'll update as soon as I can. School is a bitch.

**KMAC 08**: You were the very first one who gave me a review so you'll stay special to me. Thanks for staying with me.

I'm sorry if I wrote any of your names wrong.

And thank you to all those who added me to their favorite author/author alert list or my story on their favorite story/story alert list. It's very much appreciated.


	5. Discovering the island and other things

Here I am, finally. Things are really getting hectic with those dreadful exams approaching every day. Anyway, I'll try to update once more before the exams start but I can't make any promises except that I'll try my hardest. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. You're the ones who keep me going.

It might seem to you that the characters are a bit OOC, but you have to remember that they are now 17 (people change, especially around Mikan) and they all know each other for 7 years straight. That's gotta count for something.

Please review at the end. They are my biggest motivation.

Disclaimer: I don't think anyone will be surprised when I declare that I don't own Gakuen Alice nor its characters.

* * *

Chapter 4: Discovering the island and other things...

Imagine the universe, now zoom in on our planet, focus on the Pacific Ocean and then try finding a little, tiny, unknown island with a mountain in that enormous ocean.

If you found it, scan the area and start searching for a beautiful brunette and a dazzling raven-haired boy because it's them who we're looking for.

Can't you find them? No surprise, you're probably just on the wrong island because there exist countless islands with a mountain in the Pacific Ocean..

I know where they are, so let me take you to them.

If you followed my lead, you are currently seeing a brunette who is awakening. And she's our destination.

The girl opened her eyes that were still sleepy. Her body ached everywhere due to all that swimming yesterday, and if that wasn't enough: she was terribly thirsty and she was starving.

Mikan went over what had happened yesterday,

Flashback:

_After they had sent their message to Ruka and Hotaru, they decided to rest a little more until Natsume stood up and said he was going to look for some branches to make a campfire._

_Mikan had agreed that that would be a good idea and she started to search rocks to make a circle where the wood could be put in._

_When she was searching for small stones in the water she noticed for the first time that there were a lot of tiny fish swimming between her feet. It tickled and a little smile crept up her face._

_When she returned to the place where they had originally left she saw Natsume already making a fire, while using his alice. She silently thanked his alice that was priceless in this situation._

_"Aren't you going to wait while I put the stones around the wood?", Mikan asked while watching the growing fire._

_"No, this fire is only temporary, tomorrow we'll have to find a better location to set up a camp."_

_Mikan looked around, she was about to ask what was wrong with their current location but then started to look more carefully to her surroundings. They weren't too far from the sea so if there would be a storm or if the flood came higher than usual, their stuff and themselves included would be totally drenched. They were in the middle of the beach so they had no protection against the wind and if it would rain there wasn't anything to take shelter under._

_"I see, well this fire will have to do then." and she put herself in front of it next to Natsume._

_She had wanted to talk to him about it during the whole day but they had been busy so she decided to put it on hold. Now was the perfect time._

_"Ne Natsume, you saved my life, didn't you?"_

_The young man shrugged, "I couldn't just leave you there in the plane could I? Besides, I was hoping that the plane wouldn't sink but there would be no chance of that happening with your heavy self in it._

_Mikan glared at him, "You should become a comedian. Your jokes are hilarious.", she said sarasticelly._

_"It isn't a joke, you can't imagine how much trouble I had keeping my head above water with you hanging on my arm like a gigantic rock."_

_Mikan looked at him. Shadow and light were playing a game of tag on his face and it was as if his hypnotizing crimson eyes had a life of their own. Even though he was now laughing with the matter, she knew that he really had had to fight for their lives during that night. She knew because she had seen his wounds but more importantly; she had seen it in the those same eyes when he woke up from his state of unconsciousness and said her name._

_While she was looking at his face and those eyes, everyone called them cold but she found them to be the most lively and warmest eyes she had ever seen, her heart felt for a moment a little too big for her chest, like it was filled with some emotion that was even bigger than her own heart. And in that moment she quickly bent over to Natsume and gave him a sweet kiss on his cheek._

_The raven-haired boy looked surprised. "What was that for?"_

_"For saving my life and everything else."_

_"Hnn" he simply shrugged and laid down._

_Mikan followed his example, not knowing how much that little kiss meant to Natsume, and they fell asleep together for the second time since the crash._

End Flashback

She decided that she should let Natsume sleep and went to the backpack where they had put their precious food in. She was incredibly hungry but they had to save the food as long as they could and so she only took 2 cookies and drank a bit of water. While she was doing this, Natsume had woken up and came up to her side, he only took one cookie and drank some water.

"We have to explore the island in order to find something eatable, because with this little food we have, we can survive 3 days at most."

"There's so much we have to do; find a good location for the camp, find food and water, explore the island and we still don't know where Hotaru and Ruka are. What do we do first?"

Natsume had already thought about this and it wasn't easy, if they first made their camp they wouldn't have time to find any food and so they would have to consume the only food they had and he didn't want to do that. If there was anything eatable here on the island it would be mostly fruit and fruit didn't last long, while the cookies and the potato chips did. So it was best to rely on the food they would find here and save the other things for other occasions. He also didn't want to open the other bottles of water if not necessary.

"We'll first explore the island in search of food and water and perhaps if we're lucky we'll still have some time to look around for a more suited place to stay."

"Yosh!! Let's go!!", Mikan was already on her way to enter the jungle when Natsume grabbed her hand.

"Not so fast, little girl" and dragged her to the place where their suitcases were, "Change clothes".

"Huh? Why?"

"Just do it or do you want me to do it for you?"

"Natsume no baka! I'm perfectly capable of putting on my own clothes but I want to know why, it's probably just to peek at me."

The crimson-eyed boy sighed, " I have no interest what so ever in peeking at you, there's nothing worth seeing anyway but you'll never stop nagging until I explain, won't you?"

"Indeed", the brunette smugly said.

" Well, we don't know what things there are present in that jungle. There could be poisonous snakes, spiders, nasty plants and so on. It's best if we put on a jeans to cover up our legs and a pair of shoes, so do it already!"

There weren't a lot of things Natsume hated, wait scratch that, there were a lot of things that Natsume hated but having to explain himself was on the top of that list.

"What!! P..p..poisonous? Snakes, spiders?" All kind of scenario's started playing in Mikan's head the moment he said that:

She, walking on a snake and then be bitten in the leg and then she would die.

A spider that fell on top of her head, and then injected her poisonous venom into her eye, and then she would die.

Another snake, that would crawl around her neck and strangle her to death.

She, being eaten alive by an flesh eating plant, and then she would die.

These were just a fraction of all the different scenario's but they all had one thing in common: They all ended up with her dying a slow, excruciating death.

Mikan felt sick in the stomach, she just wanted to stay put on the beach, safe from all those horrors.

"Natsume, shouldn't you go alone in the jungle? I mean, someone has to watch our stuff, we wouldn't want it to be stolen, ne?"

The boy knew this would happen, that had been one of the reasons why he didn't want to explain why she had to change. Damn her and her stubborn self!

"And who the hell would steal our stuff if this is a deserted island? And if there was really something lurking around here would you like to be all alone, the only thing standing in the way of that unknown thing and our luggage?", he said while raising an eye brow.

The defeated girl slumped down onto the beach, "I don't know anymore what to do! I don't want to stay here alone but I also don't want to go into that jungle, I'm sure something will happen to me in there. I'm scared."

Natsume watched his brunette giving in to her fears and felt the strong need to protect her, to assure her that as long he was around there was no chance that anything would happen to her.

He crouched down 'till he was on the same level as Mikan who was almost in tears, not only from her fear but also from tiredness, being hungry and the aftershock of the crash.

He then did something that was almost near impossible and unimaginable: he pulled her into a hug and started caressing her hair, trying to calm her. After the shock of realising that Natsume was hugging her, she relaxed and gave in to the hug, resting her chin onto his shoulder and nestling herself in the crook of his neck.

"I'm sorry Natsume, I really want to be strong but I guess I'll always be a burden to you."she said while teardrops were slowly finding their way from her beautiful amber eyes. Hot breath tickled his neck and made it difficult for him to speak.

"Shh, you're not a burden. Most girls would've been in a state of shock now and unable to do anything. I couldn't have managed to get our stuff out of the plane if you weren't there, remember? And it's okay to be scared, but I'm here aren't I?

Mikan nodded, " Are you really going to protect me?" she muffled against his shoulder.

"Yes, I promise. I'll be next to you the whole time."

The girl stayed still while she was contemplating on what he had said while he was getting uncomfortable with their position.

Not only did he betray too much of his real feelings for her and did he lose his cool exterior, the proximity of the girl that he had loved and longed for for more than 7 years and feeling all her curves pressed against his body made his mind go hazy. Feelings stirred inside of him and an aching feeling found its way to his chest and other parts of his body.

He couldn't help but think that perhaps Mikan had been right the whole time when she stated that he was the biggest pervert of all. Here he was, with an upset and crying girl in his arms and his biggest concern was not to push her down and kiss her senselessly and more. She fit in his arms perfectly as if it was meant that she must spend most of her time in them.

He really didn't understand why she was the only one who could make him feel this way, like your average teenage boy with an overdose of hormones. He had almost the whole female population in Alice Academy at his feet, who were willing to give him their body and soul but he couldn't care less.

He wanted only one soul and only one body and only one girl, his girl, Mikan. And here she was, right in his arms, on some island with nobody around who could see them nor hear them.

He almost had given in with his desires when Mikan broke the hug, showing that she was ready to go into that jungle. He was disappointed that she was again out of his reach but relieved for a part that she ended the hug because otherwise he would've really had a hard time hiding his arousal.

"Okay, now start changing, I'm getting sick of all this sentimental and nice guy acting."

Mikan only smiled, knowing that he just wanted to retrieve his cool exterior and went to her suitcase and took out a pair of jeans, a green t-shirt with long sleeves and her sneakers. She figured that now she was at it she could as well brush her hair and put on some deodorant.

"If you peek Natsume, I'll make this time on the island for you a living hell!" (Hotaru gave her some lessons in being "assertive")

"Tsh, I already said it, there's nothing to see so I wouldn't even bother." and he turned his back on her to put force to his statement.

**Natsume POV:**

"I'm not going to look, I'm not going to look. I'm not turning my head. Not turning!

Where's your self discipline, you spineless wimp?

I'd rather stab my eyes out than Mikan to be right."

**End POV**

While Natsume was struggling with his pride and his (let's admit it) his perverted mind when Mikan is concerned, that same girl was ready changing and went to the water to wash her face and hands to refresh herself.

When she came back she found Natsume changing clothes after he had put everything they would need in the backpack.(the cookies, a bottle of water, his pocket knife etc..)

He didn't notice she could not only see him but that she was watching him. He had only his boxers on and was now searching for his jeans in his suitcase. She saw his muscles move under his skin while he was rummaging through his clothes. She couldn't help but marvel at his clean, impeccable, tanned skin, his broad shoulders, his strong biceps, long muscled legs and his tight, delicious ass...

She blushed when she caught herself thinking this, cursing those damn hormones Hotaru had told her about. Because that was all there was to it, right? Nothing but overactive hormones. Natsume was a friend, a very handsome friend though. But nothing more. Yes, nothing more, was he?

While she was ogling the young man's irresistible body, the latter had already put on his pants and his t-shirt. When he turned around, he was just in time to see Mikan's pony tail flip to one side, as if she had quickly turned her head. Natsume smirked, as if Mikan would ever spy on him. Pigs would have to fly first than that something like that would happen. She was too innocent and too dense for peeking at him. He was probably projecting his own thoughts on her. He sighed in frustration and strapped the backpack to his back.

When the two were about to leave, a parrot came flying over their heads, the same as the day before. He dropped something from his jaws and flew 'till he reached the nearest tree and waited there. Natsume quickly laid out the message they had been eagerly waiting for in front of them. It was again a part of Ruka's pants, they figured that Hotaru probably refused to tear up her own clothes and had ordered or bullied Ruka or perhaps both to use his clothes. It made Mikan smile at how familiar the scene was.

"THINK WE'RE ON ISLAND NEXT YOU, SEE MOUNTAIN. IN SOME DAYS WE COME BY RAFT".

After reading it, they stayed quiet for a second.

"Natsume, I haven't seen any island next to us, do you think they are mistaken?

"I don't think so. It isn't possible for them to be very far from us. They are probably on an island behind us, that would explain why we don't see it right now.

"I hope they'll be careful while coming here, it's still dangerous even when there isn't a storm." Mikan was concerned because of the strong waves that could turn the raft upside down or crash them against the rocks.

"There's nothing we can do about it", even though he was also concerned, "Ruka and Hotaru can handle themselves. Come on, it's best if we leave now, I want us to be back before dark."

"Hai!"

Mikan took a little leaf from a plant nearby and quickly carved in it:

"Ok"

The bird reacted at her signal and came up to them. They left the message on the sand for the bird to take and waited until he flew off.

Finally they were ready and they went into the tropical forest.

The first thing they noticed was that it was very humid there and incredible hot, the air was heavy and it was hard to breathe normally. All the trees were making rustling sounds due to birds or other unknown things.

Mikan clung to Natsume's arm and refused to let go. They had been walking for only 5 minutes, when they spotted a palm tree with coconuts.It was the first tree that carried fruit and they soon discovered that it certainly wasn't the only one.

It was if the fruitless plants and trees they had passed were just to fool someone to believe there was nothing eatable here and they had now reached the beginning of the real jungle. Everywhere they looked were plants and palm trees that were carrying all kinds of exotic fruit:

avocados, bananas, breadfruit, custard apple, guava, lime, peccans, peanuts, melons, mangos and so on, they even found sweet potatoes!! They ran around for more than a half hour and kept discovering things. They were like little children in a candy chop. And in it that moment everything didn't seem so bad anymore, in that moment it felt as if they were in paradise.

* * *

I decided to go with a little happy ending, not of this story but of this chapter, so there's no cliffie. I know that it's a bit unrealistic that all those sorts of fruit are growing there but I couldn't just let Mikan and Natsume starve, could I? I tried to keep it as realistic as possible so no oranges, no peaches, no lychee's etc.. even though those are all on my list of favorite fruit.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you have any suggestions, ideas, tips or complaints feel free to write them in a review or pm.

I also want to ask you your opinion: Do you want to know what's going on on the other island with Hotaru and Ruka or is it enough if I just let them tell their story in short later on and keep focused on Natsume and Mikan?

Review please! It doesn't have to be much, just to let me know that there are actually people reading this, thank you. Ja ne!

Next time in "Unexpected hell or perhaps paradise?":

After founding an overflow of food, Mikan and Natsume pursue their expedition to find water. Making a camp isn't that easy at all and a rare view will be seen: Natsume's jaw on the ground. But why?

Ruka and Hotaru will be joining them soon if everything goes according plan.

And:

"Ne Natsume, what is that?"

"It seems like some signs that someone or something carved in the tree"...

Stay tune!


End file.
